By Ken Brown BBC golf pundit and five-time European Ryder Cup star

The golfing world will be delighted that Tom Lehman is the new United States Ryder Cup captain.

He is an absolute gentleman, respected all over the world and always plays the game with the right attitude.

Lehman named US captain

He plays with a lot of passion, particularly in the Ryder Cup, and he will certainly make sure the Americans are aware of the importance of it.

But he has great dignity, speaks well and is a 'pro's pro'. He will have the respect of all players on both sides.

I think Tom will do things in a slightly different style and he will be very organised.

He will look at why the US took such a heavy defeat last time and think: "Right, we are going to sort this out".

It is an important barometer in the golfing world as to the stature of the game in the US and Europe, and taking such a thrashing will make the US determined to turn things around.

Tom has played in three Ryder Cups; he has the experience and a tremendous record.

The key factor for Tom is making the Americans play more as a team

He won all three of his singles matches and has always been put in a position of responsibility - in the first two he was out first and in the other one he was last out.

All his captains have regarded him as a reliable person who when push comes to shove, they know will be up for the job.

In 1999, when they were four behind, there was a conscious attempt by the captain Ben Crenshaw to make sure they had a good start in the singles and get the crowd on their side.

That spilled over at the end but everyone realises mistakes were made in that match to the detriment of the game, and I am sure that won't happen again with Tom at the helm.

He is still competing at the top level and knows all the players. I don't think that is necessarily a huge advantage, but he will have their respect, which is the main thing.

Lehman played a leading role in the last US victory in 1999

He is a past major winner and that always lifts you apart as someone who has taken that extra step.

One of the big things for Tom will be to get Tiger Woods fully comfortable, and getting the pairings right.

Hal Sutton took a calculated gamble putting Tiger with Phil Mickelson which didn't pay off, but they could have won four out of four and then we might have had a different match.

The key factor for Tom is trying to make the Americans play more as a team rather than individuals.

Hal Sutton almost encouraged them to play as individuals and Tom has to get that team spirit going and get everyone working together as a unit.

The individual players are very committed to the cause but in that short space of time from the Monday when they get together he has to get them bonding a bit more.

Tom might consider getting the potential team together a bit more often before the event, but it is not easy with all their superstar players.

It also won't be easy to reclaim the Cup, especially with the Europeans having home advantage.

But whoever Europe choose as their captain, he will be delighted to face up to Tom as a man and a captain.